The Board remands the claims for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease as secondary to a service-connected psychiatric disorder, prescribed medications, and toxic risk exposure activities due to inadequate VA medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions were found inadequate because they did not address the theory of aggravation or apply the correct legal standard for causation.
- Claimed conditions
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25052967
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of September 2, 2020, for the grant of service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but denied a higher initial rating and TDIU.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as there was no competent or credible evidence of a current diagnosis during the appellate period.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent evaluation for the Veteran's GERD, finding that his condition is productive of daily medications to control dysphagia and is otherwise asymptomatic.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and increased evaluations for GERD, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and TBI.
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